Mast assembly for sailing vessels



Dec. 16, 1969 w. PROLSS 3,483,840

MAST ASSEMBLY FOR SAILING VESSELS Filed April 11, 1968 3 Sheets-Sheet l Dec. 16, 1969 w. PRGLSS 3,483,840

MAST ASSEMBLY FOR SAILING VESSELS Filed April 11, 1968 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Dec. 16, 1969 w. PROLss 3,483,840

MAST ASSEMBLY FOR SAILING VESSELS Filed April 11, 1968 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 l0 l I i1 H j W United States Patent 0 3,483,840 MAST ASSEMBLY FOR SAILING VESSELS Wilhelm Priilss, l Rothenhaumchaussee, 2 Hamburg 13, Germany Filed Apr. 11, 1968, Ser. No. 720,498 Claims priority, application Germany, Apr. 22, 1967, P 41,973 Int. Cl. B6311 9/08 US. Cl. 114-404 22 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE This invention relates to a mast assembly for sailing vessels, and more particularly to a square-rigged mast assembly.

It has been proposed heretofore to improve the characteristics of sailing vessels such as sailing ships by changing the aerodynamic conditions and simplifying the normally complicated handling of the sails. A significant proposal for improvement in this direction has been set forth in US. Patent No. 3,085,539 relating to a sailing ship having square-rigged masts, each of which is turnable about its vertical axis and has yards rigidly secured thereto, the arrangement being characterized by the combination of the following, partly known features:

(a) The masts are of at least three-strut construction;

(b) The two mast struts serving to fasten the yards are so inclined that the axis of rotation of the mast passes substantially through the centre of gravity of the parts belonging to the mast and that for the normal heel of the ship the surface of the sail is still substantially vertical;

(c) The yards fastened on the mast struts are curved in a plane extending substantially normal to the mast (d) The sails are furlable and horizontally guided between the yards like curtains;

(e) The movement of the masts, yards and sails is remote-controlled from one or more points situated at any desired location and independently of one another.

However, such a design still has some disadvantages as follows:

If the strength characteristics of the material are to be utilized fully, a mast of tripod construction should be provided on the deck of the ship with a pivot mount of a relatively large diameter which will obstruct the arrangement of extremely long hatches, for example, on cargo vessels.

Guidance of the sails in the manner of curtains does not lead to optimal conditions aerodynamically since open gaps will be present between sails and yards.

Pivot mounts, winches and furled sails are not covered and, therefore, are exposed to sea water, corrosion, atmospheric influences and ice-formation, depending upon individual conditions.

The winch has to take care of twelve to sixteen ropes per sail; and since, as mentioned, the furled sails remain in the open' they still cause residual drag.

It is an object of the present invention to avoid the disadvantages of the prior sailing vessel construction.

The present invention relates to a sailing vessel mast Patented Dec. 16, 1969 ice which has curved yards rigidly secured thereto and is turnable about a vertical axis and inclinable in a manner such that the surfaces of the furlable or reefable sails horizontally guided between the yards are still substantially vertical during normal heel of the ship; and it is a characteristic feature of the invention that the sails are furlable or reefable by winding the same upon rotatable drums or the like positioned within the masts which are hollow, the axis of rotation of each drum being substantially parallel to the axis of the respective mast.

According to a further feature of the invention, the mast may have an elliptical cross-section, the transverse axis of which is parallel to the longitudinal direction of the yards. To facilitate the reeling of a sail on its drum positioned in the interior of the respective hollow mast, the latter has a vertical slot at its front.

In a suitable embodiment of the invention, the sail is drawn onto its drum by reef lines at the start of the reefing operation, the reef lines being connected to the boltropes of the sail approximately at the center thereof, the boltropes being guided by the yards.

It has been found advantageous to arrange the reef lines so that in the unfurled condition of a sail each of the reef lines extends to the associated boltrope between a pair of guide rollers which are disposed laterally of a central cut-out portion in a boltrope-guiding channel of the respective yard, and over which roller the boltrope passes during furling and setting of the sail.

To provide for smooth winding of sails and boltropes on the drums during furling or reefing operations, it is advisable to shape the sails so that they increase in height continuously from their vertical central axis towards both lateral edges, and accordingly to arrange the boltrope-guiding channels of each pair of yards holding a sail at the top and bottom of the latter in a manner such that these channels diverge from each other, the distance between the channels being smallest at the center of the yards and largest at the yardarms.

According to a further feature of the invention, the boltropes may pass through trough-like guide means when travelling from the area of the boltrope-guiding rollers to the drum, the trough-like guide means being mounted for pivotal movement in a vertical plane.

With the aid of the trough-like guide means the boltropes of the sails may be helically wound upon the drums and, for example, may be inserted in helical grooves on the drums, the upper boltropes ascending and the lower boltropes descending on the drums during reeling.

The pivotal movement of the trough-like guide means may be positively controlled, e.g., by means of a threaded spindle, to insure that the boltropes will be properly wound and deposited in the helical grooves of the drums.

To achieve an especially smooth sliding movement of the boltropes of sails in the channels of the yards, a pair of boltropes may be attached to each guided edge of the sail in a manner such that the edge is sandwiched therebetween. The boltropes are preferably of round cross-section, but a rectangular shape may be used if desired. These ropes serve as shoulders engaging the walls of the channels in the yards to carry and secure the sails.

To facilitate the setting of the sails, the sheets which serve for this purpose may likewise be wound on the drum and unwound therefrom.

It is advisable to pass these sheets over tension rollers which may be subject to the action of forces exerted by springs or other auxiliary means, for example, pneumatic or hydraulic devices.

The lower mast portion mounted in the hull is preferably inclined forwardly of the vessel in a vertical plane through the longitudinal axis of the vessel. The mast is turnable by means of a lower bearing and an upper collar or journal hearing, but mechanical, pneumatic or hydraulic means are provided for locking the mast in the desired position. Since the bearing axis at the lower portion of the mast is inclined towards the bow of the vessel and, therefore, an angle is formed between the bearing axis and the main axis of the mast, it is achieved that the surface of the braced-up sail will be approximately vertical even during heel of the vessel, and that sail surface and weight will shift towards the weather-side, i.e., wind-ward, during bracing.

The construction of the mast of a sailing vessel in accordance with the invention will result in a higher aerodynamic propulsion effect and in decreased drag, that is, improved voyage efficiency.

Handling of the sails is extraordinarily simplified, and the running rigging is greatly reduced numerically. There will be space for still longer hatches on cargo vessels.

All driving and operating elements are disposed in the interior of the mast or hull so as to be protected from the influence of weather, and it is even possible to heat the interior of the mast.

Relatively pure or dry air may be drawn from the interior of the hollow mast for use in connection with air conditioning systems, motors and turbines.

The drawing illustrates the invention by way of example as follows:

FIG. 1 is an elevational view, partly in section, of a mast according to the invention;

FIG. 2 is a section taken along line A-A of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a diagrammatic cross-section illustrating the manner in which the sail is guided in the yard by means of double boltropes;

FIG. 4 is a diagrammatic perspective view of the mechanism for setting and furling the sails;

FIG. 5 illustrates means for guiding the boltropes while they are wound on the drum in the mast;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged cross-section taken along line BB of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a horizontal section illustrating the tightening device for sheets of the sails;

FIG. 8 is a partial front view of a mast having four yards in accordance with the invention, the sails arranged between the yards being shown in different reefing positions; and

FIG. 9 is a diagrammatic perspective cross-section through a special arangement for guiding the edges of sails in channels of the masts or yards.

Like reference characters denote identical parts in the various views.

A mast 1 is mounted in the hull 2 of a vessel or ship and in a deckhouse 3 by means of a lower bearing 4 and a collar or journal bearing 5, respectively.

An angle 6 is formed between the inclined lower portion and the upper vertical portion of the mast. Consequently, when the mast is turned (braced) together with all the yards 10 rigidly secured thereto, the entire surface of the sails will tend to incline to windward and toward the bow of the vessel, the yards tending to ascend from windward to lee at an oblique angle. Since, however, the vessel will simultaneously list to lee while the lateral component of the force of the wind is increased by the bracing operation, the surface of the sails will again be approximately vertical and the yards will again be disposed approximately horizontally, provided the angle 6 is selected in conformity with the average heel angle of the vessel. These conditions have a favorable effect upon the over-all efiiciency of the rigging.

FIG. 2 shows a streamlined cross-section 9 of the mast 1 having the yard 10 and a connecting guide member 11 secured thereto, which latter member accommodates suitable reef lines (described later) and subsequently the boltropes of the sails during reefing and setting operations, the boltropes and sails being pulled through a slot 12 at fl1e front side of the mast.

Openings 13 betwen mast 1 and connecting member 1 1 serve for the passage of sheets, etc., and for inspection of the interior of the mast.

The cross-section through a yard 10 shown in FIG. 3 illustrates a pair of boltropes 14 which are attached to the edge 15 of the sail 16 by sewing or the like in a manner such that the edge 15 is sandwiched therebetween.

It is further possible to replace the pair of boltropes by a flexible slide element 28 (FIG. 9) of T-shaped crosssection which may comprise, for example, resistant artificial material. This slide element may be reinforced (prepared for ready use) e.g., by inserts or filler material 29 of textile fabric comprising suitable fibers such as artificial fibars or threads, or may be built up entirely from such fibers or threads in braided form or the like by weaving or any other suitable manufacturing process.

In FIG. 4 which is a diagrammatic view of the mechanism for setting and furling the sails, the yards and the respective portion of the mast have been omitted for reasons of simplicity.

Sail 16 is provided with an upper boltrope 14 and a lower boltrope 14' which are both movable in corresponding guide channels of the yards 10 (see FIG. 3).

A reeling drum 17 is disposed within the mast behind the sail and is rotatable in opposite directions by suitable driving means.

Attached to the ends of the boltropes 14, 14' are sheets 18, 18' which pass over guide rollers 19, 19' mounted on the yardarms, and which are wound on the drum 17 during the setting of the sails.

Each of the channels guiding the boltropes has a portion cut-out in the direction towards the mast and located at the center of the yard, and the central portion of each of the boltropes 14, 14 is connected to the coordinated drum 17 by a pair of take-in or reef lines 20, 20'. Pairs of rollers 21, 21' are arranged immediately adjacent to the edges of the portions cut away from the boltrope-guiding channels of the yards, the rollers 21, 21 of each pair being positioned at opposite sides of the respective reef line 20, 20.

If in the mechanism as shown in FIG. 4 the drum 17 is rotated counterclockwise to take in the sail, the reef lines 20, 20 will pull the boltropes 14, 14' towards the drum, whereby the sail will be folded at its center and wound on the drum in two-ply form. At the same time the sheets 18, 18' are unwound, pass over the guide rollers 19, 19 and follow the boltropes 14, 14' until the drum 17 is reached.

The sail is again set by reversing the direction of rota- I tion of the drum 17 so that the sheets 18, 18 will draw the boltropes .14, 14 into the guide channels of the yards 10 until the sail reaches the position shown in FIG. 4.

The space between the rollers 21, 21' and the drum 17 is bridged by a tubular or trough-shaped guide member 22 (FIG. 5) for the boltrope 14 and a corresponding guide member 22' for the boltrope 14'. FIG. 6 shows a cross-section through the arrangement and indicates the manner in which the double boltropes 14 are disposed in the guide member 22.

Adjacent to the rollers 21, 21' each of the guide member 22, 22 is mounted on a pivot 23, while the other end of the guide member is movable upwards and downwards as indicated at 24, for example, by means of a threaded spindle (not shown). The purpose of the guide member is to direct the boltropes so that they will be wound helically on the drum, which requires travel through the distance h in the axial direction of the drum with respect to the upper boltrope 14 as well as the lower boltrope 14.

Accordingly, as will be apparent from the diagrammatic illustration in FIG. 4, the height of the sail 16 at its center has been made smaller by twice the distance 12 than the height at its outer lateral edges or leeches. whereby the shape of the sail is likewis adapted to the taperingshape of the yards, the height of which decreases towards the outer portions thereof, that is, towards the yardarms.

FIG. 7 shows the arrangement of the drum 17 and rollers 21 in the body of mast 1 and in the connecting member 11 adjacent to the yard, respectively. The sheets 18 pass over tightening or tension rollers 25 which in turn are subject to the action of extension springs 26. This arrangement will compensate for minor differences in the reeling radius with respect to the sheets and boltropes. Studs or rods 27 or other travel-limiting means render it possible that during the setting of sails the entire pull exerted by the drum is transmitted through the sheets to the boltropes, independently of the dimensions of the springs.

In FIG. 8 the uppermost sail is entirely furled in the interior of the mast, th intermediate sail is shown half set, and the lowermost sail is shown completely set.

FIG. 9 which has been explained hereinbefore illustrates a sail-guiding device which is suitable for general use in connection with guide channels in masts and yards, and thus the application thereof is not limited to mast assemblies as shown in FIGS. 1 to 8. As stated, the inserts 29 of textile fabric serve for reinforcement.

Suitable synthetic materials for the slide element 28 are, for example, polytetrafluor ethylene. The inserts 29 of textile fabric may consist of fibrous threads such as polyester.

A set of sails as shown in FIG. 8 will be wound on a corresponding number of individual drums, each of which may be driven, for example, by a separate hydraulic motor.

What is claimed is:

1. In a sailing vessel, at least one hollow mast, a plurality of spaced curved yards rigidly secured to said mast, at least one reefable sail adapted to be guided by adjacent spaced yards for substantially horizontal movement therebetween, said mast being turnable about a generally vertical axis and inclinable so as to maintain the surface of said sail in a substantially vertical plane during normal heel of said vessel, rotatable means arranged in the interior of said hollow mast and having an axis of rotation substantially parallel to the axis of said mast, and means for winding said sail on said rotatable means and unwinding it therefrom to furl and set said sail, respectively.

2. A sailing vessel as claimed in claim 1, wherein said mast ha an elliptical cross-section, the transverse axis of which is disposed substantially parallel to the longitudinal direction of said yards.

3. A sailing vessel as claimed in claim 1, wherein said mast has a generally vertically extending slot at its front side for passage of said sail to and from said rotatable means.

4. A sailing vessel as claimed in claim 1, wherein said rotatable means comprises a drum.

5. A sailing vessel as claimed in claim 4, including boltropes attached to said sail and guided by said yards, and a reef line connected to each of said boltropes approximately at the center of the latter for pulling said sail onto said drum at the start of a reefing operation.

6. A sailing vessel as claimed in claim 5, including guide channels in said yards for receiving said boltropes, each of said channels having a cut-out portion at its center, and a pair of guide rollers mounted adjacent to and laterally of each of said cut-out portions and arranged to guide said boltropes during reefing and setting operations, each of said reef lines extending between one of said pairs of guide rollers to the respective boltrope when said sail is in its unfurled condition.

7. A sailing vessel as claimed in claim 1, wherein said sail is shaped so as to increase in height continuously from its vertical center axis towards both of its lateral edges.

8. A sailing vessel as claimed in claim 7, wherein an upper and a lower boltrope are attached to said sail, and each of said adjacent spaced yards has a guide channel therein for receiving one of said boltropes, said guide channels diverging from each other in a manner such that the distance between said channels is smallest at the center of said yards and largest at the yardarms.

9. A sailing vessel as claimed in claim 8, including means for helically winding said upper and lower boltropes upon said rotatable means in a manner such that said upper boltrope ascends on said rotatable means and said lower boltrope descends thereon during winding.

10. A sailing vessel as claimed in claim 9, wherein said rotatable means comprises a drum having helical guide grooves therein.

11. A sailing vessel as claimed in claim 9, including trough-shaped means for guiding said boltropes onto said rotatable means, said trough-shaped means being mounted for pivotal movement in a substantially vertical plane.

12. A sailing vessel as claimed in claim 11, including control means for positively regulating said pivotal movement of the trough-shaped means.

13. A sailing vessel as claimed in claim 12, wherein said control means comprises a threaded spindle.

14. A sailing vessel as claimed in claim 1, wherein at least one edge of said sail has a pair of boltropes attached thereto in a manner such that said edge is sandwiched between said pair of boltropes.

15. A sailing vessel as claimed in claim 1, including sheets connected to said sail and said rotatable means, said sheets being adapted to be wound upon said rotatable means for setting said sail.

16. A sailing vessel as claimed in claim 15, including tension rollers for tightening said sheets.

17. A sailing vessel as claimed in claim 1, wherein said mast has a lower portion mounted in said sailing vessel, said lower portion of the mast being inclined forwardly of said vessel in a vertical plane through the longitudinal axis of said vessel.

13. A sailing vessel as claimed in claim 1, including at least one channel in said yards for guiding said sail, and a flexible slide element of substantially T-shaped cross-section attached to said sail at one edge thereof for engaging said channel.

19. A sailing vessel as claimed in claim 18, wherein said slide element comprises resistant artificial material.

20. A sailing vessel as claimed in claim 18, including inserts of textile fabric in said slide element.

21. A sailing vessel as claimed in claim 18, wherein said slide element is built up from artificial fibers.

22. A sailing vessel as claimed in claim 21, wherein said fibers are in the form of braided threads.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 94,277 8/1869 Brown 114107 1,304,788 5/1919 Macrae 1l4107 2,561,253 7/1951 Wells-Coates 114102 OTHER REFERENCES The Rudder Magazine, p. 46, April 1957.

TRYGVE M. BLIX, Primary Examiner US. Cl. XR. 1'l439, 112 

